Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-12-2009

[toonsterwu]

am i crazy, or is brett jackson being really impressive?

 

He has been ... but really, he should dominate the lower levels, so I'd take any success with a grain of salt for now. The one thing that is nice to see is that he's showing some discipline and ability to adjust with the bat. All that said, I don't think we'll get a clear picture on who Brett Jackson is until he gets to Daytona, if not Tennessee. That looks likely to happen next year, though.

[Guest]

Whats going on with Vitters? Hes been in Daytona for 70 games and hes just not getting it. If that hand injuries whats bothering him, theres no reason not to shut him down until it gets better.

 

26 games, not 70.

 

26, 70, same thing basically.

 

yeah, I was looking at his Peoria line there. Still, I would have expected to see at least some progress by now.

 

Yeah, I figured that's what you had done.

 

He seemed to be hitting better when he hurt his hand and has struggled since coming back. He's still got a few weeks left in the season to bounce back. Either way, I hope he returns to Daytona to start next season.

[Guest]

am i crazy, or is brett jackson being really impressive?

 

He has been ... but really, he should dominate the lower levels, so I'd take any success with a grain of salt for now. The one thing that is nice to see is that he's showing some discipline and ability to adjust with the bat. All that said, I don't think we'll get a clear picture on who Brett Jackson is until he gets to Daytona, if not Tennessee. That looks likely to happen next year, though.

 

Boise is one thing but I think what he's doing in the MWL is very impressive and I don't know about the grain of salt. He's facing better pitching than he did in the Pac-10 and he's got himself a 1.004 OPS while striking out at a lower percentage than in college (20.6% of the time in the MWL vs 28.1% during his junior year).

 

By the by, both of Brett Jackson's HRs were to left field. Good to see opposite field power.

[toonsterwu]

am i crazy, or is brett jackson being really impressive?

 

He has been ... but really, he should dominate the lower levels, so I'd take any success with a grain of salt for now. The one thing that is nice to see is that he's showing some discipline and ability to adjust with the bat. All that said, I don't think we'll get a clear picture on who Brett Jackson is until he gets to Daytona, if not Tennessee. That looks likely to happen next year, though.

 

Boise is one thing but I think what he's doing in the MWL is very impressive and I don't know about the grain of salt. He's facing better pitching than he did in the Pac-10 and he's got himself a 1.004 OPS while striking out at a lower percentage than in college (20.6% of the time in the MWL vs 28.1% during his junior year).

 

By the by, both of Brett Jackson's HRs were to left field. Good to see opposite field power.

 

If he did this for an extended period at Peoria, then sure. Hey, you know I actually was okay with the pick, but I'm just not going to read too much into 67 PA's. Even then, success wouldn't excite me as much as failure would trouble me for Brett in Peoria.

[TruffleShuffle]

the main concerns with jackson were his K-rate, ability to hit for power, and likelihood to stay in CF. his K-rate is down as a pro, which is good, though the sample size is small and he's going to face more advanced breaking pitches as he moves up the ladder. he hit for no power in arizona/boise (1 double, 2 triples, 1 homer in 27 games) but has turned things up at peoria (3 doubles, 4 homers). as for staying in CF, i can't really speak to that... but at 6'2" and 210 lbs, he probably can't add much more bulk.

[Outshined_One]

the main concerns with jackson were his K-rate, ability to hit for power, and likelihood to stay in CF. his K-rate is down as a pro, which is good, though the sample size is small and he's going to face more advanced breaking pitches as he moves up the ladder. he hit for no power in arizona/boise (1 double, 2 triples, 1 homer in 27 games) but has turned things up at peoria (3 doubles, 4 homers). as for staying in CF, i can't really speak to that... but at 6'2" and 210 lbs, he probably can't add much more bulk.

 

I definitely think he could add a few more pounds of muscle to his body. He's still a bit on the wiry side, from what I saw.

[Guest]

the main concerns with jackson were his K-rate, ability to hit for power, and likelihood to stay in CF. his K-rate is down as a pro, which is good, though the sample size is small and he's going to face more advanced breaking pitches as he moves up the ladder. he hit for no power in arizona/boise (1 double, 2 triples, 1 homer in 27 games) but has turned things up at peoria (3 doubles, 4 homers). as for staying in CF, i can't really speak to that... but at 6'2" and 210 lbs, he probably can't add much more bulk.

 

I believe the ability to stay in CF was the least concerning. The scouting reports at draft time said he doesn't have elite speed but makes up for it with good instincts and route running (I think that's one of the places the Edmonds comparisons come from).

[Guest]

Bloomington Pantagraph[/url]"]"Everything felt good," said Lilly. "I was glad I was able to do this as opposed to a simulated game. I'm glad I was given the chance to play with these guys. You can feed off their energy. It was definitely motivating."

 

Lilly threw 57 pitches, 43 for strikes. He struck out two, walked one and was the winning pitcher. His final pitch -a knee-buckling curve ball that fanned Yeldrys Molina -may have been his best.

 

"I made an effort to use all my pitches," said the 33-year-old left-hander, who topped out at 88 mph and averaged 87 on his fastball.

 

"It definitely could have been a lot better," Lilly said of his command within the strike zone. "I would have liked to locate my fastball better on the inside corner."

 

Lilly underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on July 27 and also has battled a sore shoulder. The National League All-Star said neither was a problem on Wednesday, and he hopes to rejoin the Cubs to start Monday in San Diego.

 

"That's the plan, and I intend to be ready. I don't think there were major problems or minor problems," said Lilly. "Now it's about winning games. We (the Cubs) are going to be in this thing. But we have to play a little better than we have."

 

Interview with PJ-Star:

[Guest]

Actual YouTube videos of Lilly's outing:

 

[TruffleShuffle]

i hated the pick less than the selections of guys like rundle or colvin because jackson's walk rate. yes, he strikes out too much for a guy without much power, but his strikeouts are in large part due to to his patience. i don't have any faith in the cubs' ability to teach patience, and at least jackson has that already.